Ahead of the IPL opener in Abu Dhabi this evening we give a comprehensive overview of each of the eight teams who are vying for this year's title.
Delhi Daredevils
The presence of charismatic former England batsman Kevin Pietersen (below) and the calming influence of coach Gary Kirsten should help the Daredevils tide through crisis situations. South African opener Quinton de Kock, Kiwi powerhouse Ross Taylor, the dependable JP Duminy and the effervescent Dinesh Karthik make them a formidable batting side.
Key players: Pietersen and Taylor will have to shoulder the bulk of the scoring.
Big buys: Ross Taylor, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell, James Neesham, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammad Shami
IPL record: Matches played: 91, Won: 42, Lost: 47, Tied: 1, No result: 1; Win percentage 47.22
Sport360° view: They derive their strength from foreign hands and the Indian lads do not exactly match up to that level. It is here Kirsten could help in restoring the balance. They look good though to enter the play-offs.
Squad
Openers: Murali Vijay, Quinton de Kock, Mayank Agarwal
Middle-order batsmen: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Ross Taylor, JP Duminy, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Kedhar Jadhav, Milind Kumar
All-rounders: Wayne Parnell, James Neesham, Laxmi Ratan Shukla
Wicketkeeper: Dinesh Karthik
Seamers: Mohammad Shami, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jaydev Unadkat, Siddarth Kaul, Rahul Shukla, HS Sharath
Spinners: Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Sharma, Jayant Yadav
Coach: Gary Kirsten
Chennai Super Kings
Last season: Runner-up
The Super Kings have lined-up a breath-taking assembly of batsmen this season by including dashing West Indies’ opener Dwayne Smith and Kiwi superstar Brendon McCullum. Add all-rounders Dwyane Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (above) to the mix and a recipe for success is all-but guaranteed. The spin combo is equally formidable with Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja and Samuel Badree in the ranks.
Key players: Loaded with matchwinners but their new opening combo of Smith and McCullum will be crucial to their progress. Big buys: Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Samuel Badree
IPL record: Matches played: 99, Won: 59, Lost: 38, Tied: 1, No result: 1; Win percentage: 60.71
Sport360° view: Perennial favourites as they have never missed a date with the play-offs. Chennai have made some smart buys this season to add more firepower at the top of the order. The only cause for concern is the pace attack which is relatively weaker in comparison.
Squad
Openers: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum
Middle-order batsmen: Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Mithun Manhas
All-rounders: Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Baba Aparajith, Vijay Shankar
Wicketkeeper: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain)
Seamers: Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, John Hastings, Ben Hilfenhaus, Matt Henry, Ronit More
Spinners: Ravichandran Ashwin, Samuel Badree, Pawan Negi
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Kings XI Punjab
Last season: 6th
They pulled off a coup by netting the current fast bowling sensation Mitchell Johnson and backed it up by adding star all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Thisara Perera. Veteran Indian opener Virender Sehwag will be a vital cog in Punjab’s wheel of fortune alongwith the dependable Cheteshwar Pujara. In low-profile coach Sanjay Bangar they have an astute character to guide the young Indian players in the squad.
Key players: Johnson, Maxwell, Sehwag, Pujara and captain Bailey (above left)
Big buys: Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Thisara Perera, Cheteshwar Pujara
IPL record: Matches: 89, Won: 43, Lost: 45, Tied: 1, Win percentage: 48.87
Sport360° view: A fighting unit that has always given the bigger teams a fright. They are buzzing with some sensational foreign talent. The dark horses this season.
Squad
Openers: Manan Vohra, Shaun Marsh, Virender Sehwag
Middle-order batsmen: George Bailey (captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Mandeep Singh, Gurkeerat Mann
All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Thisara Perera, Rishi Dhawan, Akshar Patel, Karanveer Singh
Wicketkeeper: Wriddhiman Saha
Seamers: Mitchell Johnson, Beuran Hendricks, Parvinder Awana, Laxmipathy Balaji, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Anureet Singh
Spinners: Murali Karthik, Shivam Sharma
Coach: Sanjay Bangar
Kolkata Knight Riders
Last season: 7th
They have a passionate captain in Gautam Gambhir (pictured), and possess a fabulous bowling attack, which includes the best spinner in Twenty20 cricket Sunil Narine and fast bowlers Morne Morke and Pat Cummins. The batting line-up comprising Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan is also quite exciting.
Key players: Gambhir, Kallis and Pathan
Big buys: Morne Morkel, Robin Uthappa
IPL record: Matches played: 88, Won: 42, Lost: 45, Tied: 1, Win percentage: 48.29
Sport360° view: Their success rate in the league does not inspire confidence but they have covered all bases. The have got a decent mix of Indian and foreign players. If the batting fires, which means the likes of Gambhir, Uthappa and Pathan have to get going, then expect them to mount a serious challenge for the title.
Squad
Openers: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey
Middle-order batsmen: Chris Lynn, Surya Kumar Yadav
All-rounders: Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hassan, Ryan Ten Doeschate
Wicketkeepers: Manvinder Bisla, Debabrata Das
Seamers: Morne Morkel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Sayan Mondal
Spinners: Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav
Coach: Trevor Bayliss
Mumbai Indians
Last season: Champions
Mumbai Indians are among the few teams that have not tinkered with their squad and have retained the core group at the player auction two months ago. By investing in old hands Michael Hussey (38) and Zaheer Khan (35) they have gone for experience. Kiwi allrounder Corey Anderson is a very good buy and has the potential to light up the tournament. Captain Sharma will be hoping to extend his dream run last year with another sterling display.
Key players: Rohit Sharma (above), Lasith Malinga
Big buys: Michael Hussey, Corey Anderson
IPL record: Matches played: 95, Won: 56, Lost: 39; Win percentage: 58.94
Sport360° view: Everything fell into place for them last season. To repeat that would require another big effort. The team with the second best success rate in the league after Chennai definitely look good to make the play-offs, with Sachin Tendulkar guiding the team as a mentor.
Squad
Openers: Michael Hussey, Sushant Marathe
Middle-order batsmen: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ambati Rayudu, Apoorv Wankhade
All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Jalaj Saxena
Wicketkeepers: Aditya Tare, CM Gautam, Ben Dunk
Seamers: Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan, Marchant de Lange, Krishmar Santokie, Josh Hazlewood, Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Suyal
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Shreyas Gopal
Coach: John Wright
Rajasthan Royals
Last season: 3rd
The only downside for this franchise have been the controversies that hit them last season when three of their players were banned for spot-fixing. But if there is any team that has consistently entertained with their brand of cricket, it is the Rajasthan Royals. As usual as they have indulged in some clever purchases roping in the dynamic Australian Steve Smith and useful Kiwi pacer Tim Southee.
Key players: Rahane, Watson, Faulkner
Big buys: Smith (pictured above), Southee
IPL record: Matches played: 90, Won: 48, Lost: 41, Tied: 1; Win percentage: 53.88
Sport360° view: Last season they set an IPL record winning by all their eight home games. This time round their home games have been shifted to Ahmedabad from Jaipur, which means Watson and company will be playing all their matches away. How they cope up with that will ensure their progress.
Squad
Openers: Ajinkya Rahane, Unmukt Chand
Middle-order batsmen: Brad Hodge, Karun Nair
All-rounders: Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Steve Smith, Stuart Binny, Rajat Bhatia, Abhishek Nayar
Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson, Dishank Yagnik, Ankush Bains
Pacers: Tim Southee, Dhaval Kulkarni, Kevin Cooper, Vikramjeet Malik, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Deepak Hooda, Amit Mishra
Spinners: Pravin Tambe, Iqbal Abdulla, Ankit Sharma, Rahul Tewatia
Coach: Paddy Upton
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Last season: 5th
They have always been a star-studded team and it is no different this time around. The two-time finalists have ramped up their pace attack by including Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Albie Morkel is another welcome addition. The spin department is in able hands with left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati and the young leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on board. The 41-year-old Mutthiah Muralitharan is a nice option to call upon in case of a crisis.
Key players: As two of the best batsmen in the world, Gayle and Kohli (pictured) are the obvious match-winners.
Big buys: Albie Morkel, Yuvraj Singh, Mitchell Starc
IPL record: Matches played: 94, Won: 47, Lost: 44, Tied: 2, No result: 1; Win percentage 51.61
Sport360° view: Any team that has Kohli, Gayle and AB de Villiers in their ranks has to be a favourite to go all the way in the competition. All three were among the runs in the recently concluded World Twenty20 championship in Bangladesh and we agree with their captain when he says this could be the Royal Challengers’ year.
Squad
Openers: Chris Gayle, Parthiv Patel, Nic Maddinson
Middle-order batsmen: Virat Kohli (captain), Vijay Zol, Yuvraj Singh, Tanmay Mishra
All-rounders: Albie Morkel, Sachin Rana,
Wicketkeepers: AB de Villiers, Yogesh Takawale
Seamers: Mitchell Starc, Ravi Rampaul, Ashok Dinda, Varun Aaron, Sandeep Warrier, Abu Nechim, Harshal Patel
Spinners: Muthiah Muralitharan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shadab Jakati
Coach: Daniel Vettori
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Last season: 4th
After a fantastic debut where they made their opponents sweat, it is time for consolidation for the Sunrisers this season. They have taken the right step in retaining most of their top players and have netted a big name in David Warner. The left-handed opener has been in blazing form this season and he will be looking to carry it in the IPL as well.
Key players: David Warner at the top and Darren Sammy low down the order are certain matchwinners. Fast bowler Dale Steyn and leg-spinner Amit Mishra lead the bowling charge.
Big buys: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Irfan Pathan IPL record: Matches played 17, Won 9, Lost 7, Tied 1; Success percentage 55.88.
Sport360° view: Another team that stole fans hearts with their gutsy displays. The Indian players match up to the foreign talent. Play-offs are once again a possibility.
Squad
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan (captain, above), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Anirudha Srikkanth
Middle-order batsmen: Venugopal Rao, Manpreet Juneja
All-rounders: Irfan Pathan, Darren Sammy, Moises Henriques, Ashish Reddy
Wicketkeepers: Naman Ojha, Brendon Taylor, Lokesh Rahul, Amit Paunikar
Seamers: Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Jason Holder, Prashant Parameswaran, Chama Milind
Spinners: Amit Mishra, Karn Sharma, Parveez Rasool, Ricky Bhui
Coach: Tom Moody
